Richard Griffin

Richard Griffin

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit

Tenure

2005 - Present

Years in position

19

Education

Bachelor's

Western Michigan University, 1973

Law

University of Michigan Law School, 1977

Personal

Birthplace

Traverse City, Mich.

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Richard Allen Griffin is a federal judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. He joined the court in 2005 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.

Early life and education

A native of Traverse City, Michigan, Griffin graduated from Western Michigan University with a bachelor's degree in 1973 and from the University of Michigan Law School with his J.D. in 1977.

Professional career

• 2005-present: Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
• 1989-2005: Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals
• 1977-1988: Private practice, Traverse City, Mich.

Judicial career

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Richard A. Griffin
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 1079 days after nomination.
ANominated: June 26, 2002
AABA Rating: Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: June 16, 2004
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: May 26, 2005 July 20, 2004
AConfirmed: June 9, 2005
AVote: 95-0
AReturned: November 20, 2002 December 8, 2004

Griffin was first nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit by President George W. Bush on June 26, 2002, to a seat vacated by Judge Damon Keith as Keith assumed senior status. The American Bar Association rated Griffin Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination. Under provisions of Rule XXXI, paragraph six of the standing rules of the Senate, Griffin's nomination was returned to the president on November 20, 2002. President Bush resubmitted the nomination on January 7, 2003. Hearings on Griffin's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on June 16, 2004, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on July 20, 2004. Griffin's nomination was returned at the sine die adjournment of the Senate on December 8, 2004. President Bush resubmitted Griffin's nomination on February 14, 2005. Griffin's nomination was reported by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) on May 26, 2005. Griffin was confirmed on a recorded 95-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on June 9, 2005, and he received his commission the next day.

Noteworthy cases

Divided Sixth Circuit panel upholds appeals courts' jurisdiction over Clean Water Rule cases

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (Murray Energy Corp. et. al. v. U.S. Department of Defense et al., No. 15-3751 et al.)

On February 22, 2016, a divided three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling in Murray Energy Corp. et. al. v. U.S. Department of Defense et al. Several challenges to the 2015 Clean Water Rule were brought in federal district courts and federal appeals courts as litigants questioned which courts had jurisdiction. Two specific subsections of 33 U.S.C. §1369(b)(1), subsections (E) and (F), provide that federal appeals courts may review an action of the EPA administrator "(E) in approving or promulgating any effluent limitation or other limitation under section 1311, 1312, 1316, or 1345 of this title" or "(F) in issuing or denying any permit under section 1342 of this title ..." A divided three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit held that federal appeals courts had jurisdiction in this case under subsection (F). The Sixth Circuit panel held that jurisdiction was established under a circuit precedent, National Cotton v. Council v. U.S. E.P.A.

In an opinion concurring in the judgment, Judge Richard Griffin concurred that National Cotton granted jurisdiction under subsection (F), but he argued that National Cotton was wrongly decided. In his view, he would have denied jurisdiction, but because National Cotton was a controlling precedent and that a three-judge panel cannot overturn a decision of a circuit, he concurred in the result.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on this case during its October 2017 term.

For more, see National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
• Michigan Court of Appeals

External links

• Judge Griffin's biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit 2005-Present	Succeeded by -